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August 17, 2010

Man found in trash chute identified; no new leads in investigation

The man found dead in a downtown apartment building trash chute has been identified as 30-year-old Harsh Kumar, a resident of the building's 16th floor. Kumar was found Aug. 12 on the parking garage level of the Park Charles apartment building in the 200 block of N. Charles St., and police say an autopsy suggests he fell from one of the top floors, down the trash chute and into the garbage compactor. Police said there were no other injuries on his body except those consistent with a fall.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Kumar lived in the building with family members, who were on vacation at the time of the incident, causing the delay in anyone reporting him missing. The investigation is continuing, police said.

It appears, based on a LinkedIn profile page and a check of records, that Kumar was an analyst with an IT company who attended Johns Hopkins. I've been unable to find contact info for his family.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Downtown

Comments

Peter,
Thanks for the update. Needless to say, tenants in this building (mine) have been on edge since this incident happened.

Posted by: Herman | August 17, 2010 2:56 PM

Harsh was a good guy. This has just ripped out my heart the last two days.

I can't think of a worse way to go. I wish I could have had one more round with the guy.

Damn.

Posted by: John | August 17, 2010 4:04 PM

He was a great guy ... I knew Harsh through my daughter who adored him. I will miss him greatly.

Sara ...

Posted by: Sara | August 17, 2010 5:01 PM

I've known Harsh since high school in Florida, and we had many common friends then and over the years. He was a great guy; always very happy to see me and talk whenever I had a chance to visit with him. He will be sorely missed by his family, his friends, and myself. -Italo

Posted by: Italo Lenta | August 17, 2010 8:44 PM

My condolences to those who knew him. But, was he friends with someone on one of the higher floors? What would he be doing up there if he lived on 16? How would you possibly accidentally fall in that chute. It's just about impossible. Something's clearly off on this one.

Posted by: resident | August 19, 2010 11:59 AM

I knew Harsh and his family. Harsh was a very smart guy and we are all shocked and stunned by this incident. The police needs to further investigate this case as there are too many open questions and accidental fall down the chute does not make sense. PLEASE, this case needs to be further investigated.

Posted by: csriv | August 19, 2010 8:08 PM

I worked with Harsh's mom in Florida and I know that he and his sister means the world to her and his dad. Our hearts and prayers goes out to her and her family at this time.

Posted by: Francena | August 24, 2010 5:34 PM

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About Peter Hermann

Peter Hermann started covering news for The Baltimore Sun in 1990, first in Anne Arundel County and, starting in 1994, reporting on the Baltimore Police Department. In 2001, he was assigned to Jerusalem as the Baltimore Sun's Middle East correspondent. He returned in 2005 as an assistant city editor overseeing crime coverage. In 2008, Peter returned to the beat as a daily reporter and blogger. A recent BBC report featured him in a segment on the harsh realities of covering crime in Baltimore.

Coverage will focus on crime trends, problems in neighborhoods in the city and elsewhere, profiles of victims and police officers and try to offer readers a fresh perspective on one of the most vexing issues facing Baltimore and its future.

Contributing to this blog is Justin Fenton, who joined The Sun in 2005 and has covered the Baltimore City Police Department and the criminal justice system since 2008. His work includes an investigation into Cal Ripken Jr.’s minor league baseball stadium deal with his hometown of Aberdeen, a three-part series chronicling a ruthless con woman, coverage of the killing of five Amish children at a schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pa., and a job swap with a British crime reporter to explore differences in crime-fighting. A special report looking into how city police handle rape cases led to sweeping reforms that changed the way sexual assaults are investigated in Baltimore. He was recognized as the best reporter in Baltimore by the City Paper in 2010 and by Baltimore Magazine in 2011.

Follow @phscoop, @justin_fenton on Twitter